


Girl Talk

by Liviania



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Episode: s2e09 The Road Trip, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 08:50:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2767049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liviania/pseuds/Liviania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rosa is most definitely not comfortable with girl talk, but she'll give it her best shot when a friend needs it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Girl Talk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fieldofyellowdandelions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fieldofyellowdandelions/gifts).



Some days Rosa regretted that she'd been put in control of the Giggle Pig task force. Most of those days, it was because of the stress. She spent her down time putting her training as a homicide cop to good use by plotting how she would kill each of her coworkers.  But it wasn't all stress.  She knew that Holt was right to have faith in her, and her task force had already made some great arrests. She could and would catch Tito Ruiz.  She wished it were stress.  Before the task force, she'd been happy with her job. She was a detective, and a good one. Jake might be better than her when he was on his game, and no one could beat Amy for obsessive legwork, but Rosa put her fair share of criminals behind bars. She had the self-control most of her coworkers lacked.

Now, though ... now, she wanted to be a leader. She wanted Terry's job someday, and maybe even Holt's. Rosa was sometimes as much a mystery to herself as she was to everyone else, and she'd never expected this well of ambition inside herself. She'd always seen that as Amy's thing, as if there could only be one woman in the precinct who aspired to be the captain.

It was a strange thing, to suddenly realize that you didn't know yourself as well as you thought.

She looked up as a folder thumped down in front of her. "That's mine and Jake's progress for the week," Boyle said. "We got some new intel from UPSIS to follow up on."

"Good," Rosa said, setting the folder on top of all the other folders she needed to read and file this weekend. Who knew being in charge meant extra unpaid work after hours?

"We're gonna go get a drink," Jake said, gesturing widely to encompass the entire room. "It's been a long week, and I need to prove to Sophia that I am the dart king."

"Oh, your girlfriend is coming along?" Rosa asked with a smile. She liked Sophia, surprisingly. She'd suspected Jake of just rebounding again in an attempt to get over Amy, but Sophia worked well with Jake. And anyone was better than Jake's girlfriend with the necrophilia fetish.

"Yeah, and please don't bring up last week. I'm still making up for the disastrous double date."

Rosa laughed shortly, keeping her poker face up. What disastrous double date? Who left her out of the good office gossip? "Give me a minute to shut down my compute and pack up. There's a beer with my name on it."

* * *

 While Jake and Sophia played darts at the back of the bar, Rosa sat with Amy, Boyle, and Gina at a round wooden table that rocked if you jostled it even slightly. They'd all lost a little beer to to the wobbling, mostly from Boyle or Amy's hand gestures going awry. That wasn't a problem for Rosa. She flatly inquired, "Okay, so what was this disastrous double date I'm not supposed to bring up with Sophia?"

"I suddenly realized that my squid is done fermenting and I need to go prepare some shiokara," said Boyle, knocking over his beer as he hastily put on his jacket. "Whoops!" He mopped at the mess ineffectually with a napkin while Gina started to make her own excuse.

Rosa tuned both of them out to look at Amy, who had sighed and then thunked her head down on the table while Charles made his lame excuse. "She can have my beer," said Gina as she and Boyle hastened away.

"I'm guessing you were on the double date too?" asked Rosa. Shit. She hadn't meant to poke a nerve. She arched an eyebrow. This was time for actual expressions.

"Jake tried to surprise me with a romantic weekend with Teddy. He didn't know I was ready to break up with him. Teddy got me back for breaking up with him by telling Jake that I liked him and blaming our relationship issues on him," Amy said, mouth quivering a little. "And now I have beer in my hair."

"He's an asshole."

Amy really smiled at that, briefly, before thunking her head down again. Guess she'd decided a little more beer wouldn't hurt her hair, at this point. "Ugh, the ride back to the precinct was awful. Jake was trying to be _understanding_. It was like getting an 'I'm just not that into you' speech from a yellow lab. No, from a puppy. I'm not sure where I'm going with this metaphor." She lifted her head to facilitate taking a long drink from her beer. Rosa watched her throat work, because it was more comfortable than looking at her face. She turned her head slightly, spying Jake laugh and put his arm around Sophia out of the corner of her eye.

"You want to go get drunk somewhere else?" she asked.

"Oh yes."

* * *

A few too many rounds of shots later at the closest bar scuzzy enough that they could afford a few too many rounds, Rosa awkwardly patted Amy's hair while Amy sobbed on her shoulder. "He didn't have to humiliate me like that!" she wailed. Rosa agreed, but she'd rather express her agreement by punching Teddy in the face than dispensing hugs. This was outside of her wheelhouse, but Amy needed a shoulder to cry on. Literally. So Rosa would provide it.

"C'mon, bars are closing soon," Rosa said. "You can spend the night at my place."

* * *

Rosa set an omelet down in front of Amy. Amy was lucky she'd been passed out most of the time; Rosa was uncomfortable spending this much time with people, especially people who were covered in feelings (and stale beer). Amy drank the glass of water gratefully, then dug into the omelet with gusto. "This is the best omelet I've ever eaten," she said, "And Boyle's made me an omelet before." She paused to take another drink of water, then said, "Of course, I'm not entirely sure what was in that omelet. I think it came from Turkey. The country."

Rosa snorted. "Sounds like Boyle." She hesitated, then decided she could be tough. She could do this. "So how are you feeling? Aside from the hangover?"

Amy laughed, then winced, pressing a hand to her head. "Really not feeling much aside from the hangover. But I kinda needed this, I think. Thanks, Rosa." She took two more big bites, finishing off the omelet in record time. "Not just for listening, but for letting me spend the night. I know you like your space."

"It's alright," Rosa said. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it." She paused. "That doesn't mean you can show up unannounced."

Amy grinned. "I know." She looked down at her hands and said, softer, "It's just that I do like Jake. And it's stupid, because he's stupid. I cannot believe that I have feelings for that dork."

"Happens to the best of us."

"Feelings for Jake?"

"No, feelings for stupid people. That's most of humanity; it's just statistically likely."

Amy snorted, then said, "I don't want to get married, you know?"

Rosa blinked. She wasn't sure where Amy was going with that. Especially since she'd always imagined Amy would end up on the campaign trail with her husband and a perfectly pressed son and daughter by her side, all trooping back to some ridiculously quaint brownstone.

"My mom has been onto me lately, when we talk on the phone. She really liked Teddy and can't believe that _I_ dumped _him_ because he was 'such a keeper.' But I don't want to get married. I know everybody probably thinks that I want a picket fence and 2.5 children because I'm boring, but I like my job. I don't want to get pregnant, take maternity leave, wonder if I'll leave an orphan in my wake. I want my career, and maybe a boyfriend on the side. I don't want to get involved with someone from work. I just want it to be nice and neat." She fluttered her fingers helplessly. "I want to have it all."

Rosa shrugged, taking a sip from her glass of water to hid that that had been exactly what she thought of Amy. "We all do."

Amy nodded. She ate the last bite of her omelet, clearly savoring it. "Thanks for listening, Rosa. I know this isn't how you wanted to spend your day off."

Rosa didn't move, because it was true and they both knew it.

"I feel bad for monopolizing the conversation. What's up with you? Any new leads on Ruiz?"

"Nope. The only thing I've gotten is a tip about the Pontiac Bandit being back in the area. I haven't told Jake because I know he'll be distracted until he catches Craig."

"Maybe he'd surprise you hidden depths of professionalism?"

"You do have it bad."

"I mean, the Pontiac Bandit is personal, but he gets the job done. And I think he's been listening to you more. You've really taken charge with this whole task force thing."

Only Amy could say that without sounding bitter. Most anyone else as ambitious as she was would be seething at Rosa's success. Rosa appreciated it, and made a mental note to try to be positive if Amy ever got promoted over her. "I like the task force. A lot. It's stressful, and getting Jake to behave is a job in itself, but I'm happy. And I want more. I like the responsibility as well as the power. It would surprise the principle of every school that kicked me out."

Amy paused, caught by surprise in the middle of sipping her water. "Really?"

"Yeah. I don't want to be just a detective my whole life."

"Well, you're certainly not going to be captain of the Nine-Nine," Amy said. "That's my job."

"That's what you think," Rosa said, saluting with her glass.

Amy stood, and hugged her. Rosa, rather graciously, let her. "I've got to go home and regain my dignity, alright? See you at work."

"See you at work," Rosa replied. "I am going to make fun of you for this, you know. You have a crush on _Jake_."

"Ugh, I know," Amy groaned. "But one day I'll know something embarrassing about you."

"No, you won't. I'm never embarrassed and I have no shame."

Amy laughed evilly as she left the apartment. Rosa thought she sounded a bit like a rabid chipmunk, but she appreciated the effort. Especially since it impended the arrival of delicious, relaxing solitude.

But who knew she could manage girl talk? Rosa really did learn new things about herself every day.

 


End file.
